Is Swine Flu A Biological Weapon?

There are some factors that suggest the swine flu killing people in Mexico may be a biological weapon, but obviously no such conclusion can be drawn at this time. The World Health Organization and the U.S. government have been quick to deny such claims [2].

The swine flu virus is described as a completely new strain, an intercontinental mixture of human, avian and swine viruses. Tellingly, there have been no reported A-H1N1 infections of pigs.

According to a source [3] known to former NSA official Wayne Madsen, “A top scientist for the United Nations, who has examined the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, as well as HIV/AIDS victims, concluded that H1N1 possesses certain transmission “vectors” that suggest that the new flu strain has been genetically-manufactured as a military biological warfare weapon.

Madsen claims that his source, and another in Indonesia, “Are convinced that the current outbreak of a new strain of swine flu in Mexico and some parts of the United States is the result of the introduction of a human-engineered pathogen that could result in a widespread global pandemic, with potentially catastrophic consequences for domestic and international travel and commerce.”

Latin America: Summit reveals a changing continent

The fifth Summit of the Americas was held over April 17-19 in Trinidad and Tobago, bringing together representatives from all countries of the Americas except Cuba.

A far cry from the first of its kind, convened by the US in 1994, it revealed how much has changed in the hemisphere.

The region is now marked by the dispute between a push for greater independence from US economic and political power (which includes a revolutionary, anti-capitalist bloc) and US imperialism.

The latter is trying to undergo a facelift, led by President Barack Obama, to repair the damage done to US regional relations by the actions of the previous Bush administration.

The first Summit of the Americas held was held in Miami and comprised the 34 member countries of the Organisation of American States (which excludes only Cuba).

Barack Obama is covered up a huge Financial Crime. Prepare yourself for reality

Since taking office, Obama, wittingly or otherwise, has headed the largest criminal enterprise in history – the mass looting of national wealth to enrich his Wall Street benefactors. He assembled a rogue economic team of Clinton/Robert Rubin retreads – to fix the current crisis they engineered.

In a March 13 article, (author and former Republican strategist) Kevin Phillips called them “recycled senior (Clinton administration) Democrats (responsible for the) tech mania, deregulation binge and (1997 – 2000) stock market bubble and crash. (Obama) extend(ed) the (disastrous) mismanagement and pro-Wall Street bias of the 2008 Bush regime bailout.”

He called Geithner and Bernanke “hapless,” the result of their ruinous misjudgments (and, along with Alan Greenspan, complicit) with finance-sector malfeasance.”

He said Summers will be “remembered for helping to block federal regulation of financial derivatives and orchestrat(ing) the 1999″ Glass-Steagall repeal, among his other “achievements.” He went down the list of key economic officials and trashed them all as the very types to be avoided, not appointed.

Sell and run?

From my perspective, corporations only accelerate positive earnings news under 2 conditions: a) There’s serious market doubt about the ongoing viability of the company, or b) The company wants to take advantage of the good news to issue securities (debt or stock), and the lawyers require updated disclosure.

As longtime Minyans know, I believe that companies only issue common stock under 2 circumstances: a) when they absolutely have to, and b) when they’re stupid not to. And it’s with these criteria that I evaluate every stock offering.

The crisis is not over: this is what they don´t tell you

The credit crisis? It’s over! Quit worrying.
The real estate mess? Fixed! No problem.
The economy? Rebounding. The worst is behind us.
The markets? They’re headed to infinity and beyond! Better get on board.
I’ve talked about the credit crisis a few times in previous And no less an authority than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes we’ve only acknowledged $1.29 trillion of the $4 trillion in total global credit losses to date. That means we’re not even a THIRD of the way through the process.

In the real estate arena, we’re seeing tentative signs of life in some hard-hit markets. But it’s the distressed, “fire sale” stuff that’s moving. Inventory levels remain high, and foreclosures show no sign of abating. In fact, foreclosure filings hit a new record high of 341,000 in March — a gain driven by rising unemployment, falling home prices, and the expiration of several, temporary state and industry moratoriums.
And that’s just on the RESIDENTIAL front!

The Debt Trap of CDS

Warren Buffett called them “weapons of mass destruction” in 2003.
President Bush said they had to be regulated.

So did the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the current head of the Federal reserve.

As did the G-20 group of the world’s 20 richest nations.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan – after being one of their biggest cheerleaders – now says they are dangerous.

And a Nobel prize-winning economist said they should be “blown up or burned”, and we should start fresh.

What Are They Talking About?

The notices of foreclosure are still rising

RealtyTrac reported a big jump in foreclosure actions in the first quarter of the year with most of the increase due to a surge in March. Nationwide, notices of foreclosure are up 9.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008 and 23.6 percent from the first quarter of 2008. Notices were issued at more than a 3.2 million annual rate in the quarter. Assuming an average of 2 notices per house, this implies 1.6 million houses will be in the foreclosure process over the course of the year.

California saw the sharpest uptick among the major states. Its first quarter numbers were up 35.1 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2008 and 36.0 percent compared with the first quarter of 2008. At an annual rate, foreclosure notices were given to 1 in 58 households in the state. Nevada and Arizona have even higher foreclosure rates, with notices being given at a rate of 1 in 27 households in Nevada and 1 in 54 households in Arizona.

Wall Street is in the midst of a huge rally, primarily sparked by two recent occurrences.

The first was the “surprising” announcement that Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America — major “zombie” banks laden with “toxic assets,” on the verge of collapse, and the recipients of billions in government (US taxpayer) bailout money — mysteriously posted profits this year. Wells Fargo, regarded as one of the healthier big banks, and a recipient of $25 billion, also reported a profit last week, rallying the stock markets again before the Easter holiday.

World a Step Closer to a Global Currency. Ruling the World of Money

In an April 7 article in The London Telegraph titled “The G20 Moves the World a Step Closer to a Global Currency,” Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wrote:

“A single clause in Point 19 of the communiqué issued by the G20 leaders amounts to revolution in the global financial order.

“‘We have agreed to support a general SDR allocation which will inject $250bn (£170bn) into the world economy and increase global liquidity,’ it said. SDRs are Special Drawing Rights, a synthetic paper currency issued by the International Monetary Fund that has lain dormant for half a century.

“In effect, the G20 leaders have activated the IMF’s power to create money and begin global ‘quantitative easing’. In doing so, they are putting a de facto world currency into play. It is outside the control of any sovereign body. Conspiracy theorists will love it.”

Indeed they will. The article is subtitled, “The world is a step closer to a global currency, backed by a global central bank, running monetary policy for all humanity.” Which naturally raises the question, who or what will serve as this global central bank, cloaked with the power to issue the global currency and police monetary policy for all humanity? When the world’s central bankers met in Washington last September, they discussed what body might be in a position to serve in that awesome and fearful role. A former governor of the Bank of England stated:

The dollar bubble is reaching its final stages

How currency swaps work

The easiest way to understand currency swaps is to think of them as two separate zero-interest loans. For example, let’s say the fed and the ECB arrange a 80 billion euros ($107 billion) swap. The ECB then lends the 80 billion euros to the US, and the US loans $107 billion dollars to the ECB. Later, at an agreed date, the currency swap is reversed: the ECB returns the $107 billion dollars to the fed, and the fed pays back 80 billion euros.

How central banks use currency swaps

Central banks use the foreign currency from swap agreements to prop up their domestic currency by:

A) Providing the foreign currency to domestic financial institutions. (If those institutions were forced to go to the exchange markets for funding, it would drive down the value of the domestic currency.)
B) Using the foreign currency to directly intervene in exchange markets.

Why currency swaps are so popular